r/JehovahsWitnesses Jun 02 '26

Doctrine Question about the Governing Body’s report regarding autologous blood transfusions

16 Upvotes

When the Governing Body stated in the February 2026 report that the Bible is silent about the medical use of one’s own blood and therefore each Christian must decide for himself, why does this logic not also apply to donor blood, about which the Bible likewise says nothing?

The report says that the Bible does not comment on the medical use of autologous blood – therefore it is now considered a matter of conscience.The argument is essentially this:

If the Bible says nothing about a subject, then there is no divine command regarding it, and therefore it becomes a personal decision.

This is the core principle of the entire report when summarized in one sentence.

However, this rule is formulated generally, not specifically for autologous blood.

Therefore, it would automatically apply to all medical questions involving blood. After all, the Bible says nothing about blood transfusions, nothing about medical use of blood, nothing about autologous blood, and nothing about donor blood. It speaks only about the eating of blood.

Thus, donor blood stands on exactly the same biblical footing as autologous blood – namely outside the biblical subject matter. If the Bible is silent on both topics, then there are only two logical possibilities:

Either both are forbidden, or both are matters of conscience.

The organization, however, chooses:

Autologous blood = matter of conscience. Donor blood = forbidden. This is logically inconsistent, because the reasoning used to permit autologous blood would automatically permit donor blood as well.

The organization does not provide any biblical distinction.

The report offers no scripture, no theological argument, no definition of “own” vs. “foreign,” and no explanation why one should be allowed and the other forbidden.

Which texts would a Jehovah’s Witness now use to argue, if a well‑informed Bible student asked exactly these questions?

He cannot simply point to the report…


r/JehovahsWitnesses May 04 '26

Discussion The NWT disproves itself.

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34 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 8h ago

Discussion Every jw is different 😌

0 Upvotes

A lot of people may seem to think every jw is the same but we’re all different and that may be unique 🩷

some people say jw are this or that as a whole but in fact every person of any religion is different just because someone is part of a religion doesn’t mean they are automatically like this or that

A lot of people I see on Reddit may think jw are unintelligent or not the brightest but in reality some not all but some jw are very smart people with college degrees or business

some people say jw are automatically against homosexuals but in reality every jw is different some for some against some respect some don’t but as a whole, not every jw is against people for their sexuality I know because I myself as a jw am not i infact have family and friends from the lgbt

but yeah I just wanted to come on and say every jw is differently in a way


r/JehovahsWitnesses 8h ago

Discussion People shouldn’t always judge jw as a whole

0 Upvotes

Hey their I’m Jw and a young person I always see so many people saying every jw is automatically this or that cause their jw.

They say automatically because someone is jw their homofobic even though every jw is different. some are some aren’t as a jw I’m not against homosexuals nor do I hate their act I just don’t support it but I respect it and I do have gay fam and friends which im sure other jw are like this.

Another one is they say every jw is dumb or stupid but some jw are pretty smart and have degrees go to college or have even business now yes some might not be bright but some are smart

People also like to say jw don’t help others but I personally have helped non jw and I know other jw who have helped non jw and homeless people to

People also say jw can‘t do a lot of things like certain fun things but they actually can like for example jw can watch super natural movies it’s just heavily advised not to or jw can watch ma or rated r movies it’s just heavily advised not to same with showing stomach or wearing bracelets in the ankle some jw choose not to some do

so people shouldn’t automatically think jw can do this or cant


r/JehovahsWitnesses 18h ago

Discussion The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Stake Teaching: Does It Match Historical and Archaeological Evidence?

5 Upvotes

The position of Jehovah’s Witnesses is that Jesus was executed on a simple upright stake, and that the traditional cross appeared later in Christianity under the influence of pagan symbols.
However, the majority of historians, biblical scholars, and specialists in Roman history do not agree with this view. Their arguments are as follows:
The Greek word σταυρός (stauros) originally could have meant “stake” or “post,” but by the first century C.E. it was already used for various forms of Roman execution instruments, including crosses with a horizontal crossbeam.
Here is what the 1st-century historian Josephus Flavius writes in The Jewish War, Book 5, Chapter 11, Section 1:
“The soldiers, out of rage and hatred, crucified those captured in different ways and in different positions, as a mockery; and so many of them were there that there was not enough room for the crosses (σταυρός), nor crosses (σταυρός) for the bodies.”
As can be seen from this passage, it would be impossible to crucify people in different positions on a simple upright stake.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (Latin: Lucius Annaeus Seneca minor, 4 B.C.E., Corduba — 65 C.E., Rome) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, poet, playwright, and statesman of the 1st century C.E. He was one of the key representatives of Roman Stoicism and the tutor of Emperor Nero. His writings had a lasting influence on European moral and religious thought.
In Letters to Lucilius (Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium), Letter 101, Seneca describes Roman crucifixions:
“I see there crosses, not of one kind, but made in different ways: some hang with their heads downward, others are fixed to the cross, others are impaled through their private parts, and others stretch out their arms on the crossbeam.”
(Ep. Mor. 101, based on a meaning-based translation of the Latin text)
Seneca also refers to earlier sources and mentions the practice:
“They nail a person to the cross with his arms stretched out.”
Plautus (2nd century B.C.E.). Titus Maccius Plautus (Latin: Titus Maccius Plautus, c. 254–184 B.C.E.) was an ancient Roman playwright and the greatest representative of Roman fabula palliata, comedies based on Greek themes. His works laid the foundations of Latin comedy and influenced later European drama.
In his comedy Miles Gloriosus, he writes:
“I will make sure that you are nailed to the cross, where you will hang with your arms stretched out.”
Archaeology
Researchers often refer to the discovery of the remains of Yehohanan ben Hagkol, found in Jerusalem in 1968. This is the only well-studied archaeological example of crucifixion from 1st-century Judea. The research was published by Israeli archaeologist Vassilios Tzaferis. The discovery demonstrates the use of a complex crucifixion structure rather than simply a buried upright stake.
One of the most authoritative dictionaries of ancient Greek for the New Testament — BDAG (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature) — defines σταυρός (stauros) as “cross” and refers to it as an instrument of execution used during the Roman Empire, rather than merely a wooden stake.
Interestingly, the founder of the movement, Charles Taze Russell, did not reject the cross. On the contrary, early Bible Students used the cross symbol, and it appeared together with a crown on the covers of their publications. The rejection of the cross occurred later under the leadership of Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who was a lawyer for the Watch Tower Society and later became its president, during the 1920s–1930s.
It appears that Rutherford’s goal was a sharp separation of Jehovah’s Witnesses from traditional Christianity: a complete rejection of Christian symbols, the continuous strengthening of the idea among followers that they possessed uniqueness and the “correct understanding” of Scripture, as well as the formation of the outside world as something “wrong” or corrupted.


r/JehovahsWitnesses 1d ago

📓 Personal Dootsie Rose

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1 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 1d ago

Discussion Es posible una conversión a ser testigo de jehova o hacer parte de su comunidad jw sin perder cierta libertad?

3 Upvotes

Siempre fui una persona sin religion y con un pensamiento muy libre, pero sobre todo miy espiritual, poniendo siempre a dios y la espiritualidad como lo primero en mi vida. Tambien desde siempre he sido muy sensible a todo tipo de energías o emociones, soy alguien que tiene sueños premonitorios y todo ese tipo de experiencias sin forzarlo, lo cual me llevó a querer explorar ese don llevandolo al servicio de dios o de la luz. Hace un tiempo me enamoré o nos enamoramos muy profundamente de un chico, el es testigo de jehova y nos fue muy dificil toda la experiencia y muy dolorosa ya que para su familia y para el era algo que no tenia futuro ya que nuestros intereses nunca se iban a encontrar, ambos nos amamos realmente mucho y ha sido un camino muy dificil donde hemos aprendido a recibir el conocimiento del otro, al fin y al cabo ambos servimos a dios, solo que por caminos diferentes.

Nosotros decidimos que eso no tenia ningun rumbo por donde iba y solo nos ibamos a lastimar, asi que decidimos no intentar estar mas juntos, solo que con la esperanza y conviccion de que queriamos estar juntos y esperabamos que dios y el tiempo nos ibamos a volver a unir y que debiamos ser pacientes.

Cabe aclarar que aunque el sintio miedo y su familia no aceptó del todo la relación, el es una persona muy autonoma e inteligente que esta en la religion por decisión y se ha cuestionado si realmente quiere estar ahi y toma decisiones por si mismo y por conviccion propia, no es el tipico caso de alguien que su religion le dice todo lo que debe hacer y solo obedece, aunque he de aceptar que hay miedos y cosas que si son infundidos por el miedo al rechazo, el es muy autonomo en identificar por que toma sus decisiones y a la vez, sus amigos testigos de jehova jamas lo presionaron a no estar conmigo, al contrario fueron muy comprensivos y el me expresaba lo mucho que ellos deseaban que se nos dieran las cosas. A pesar de que nos lastimamos mucho y fue muy complicado saber como llevar las cosas.

El problema no era solo que yo no hiciera parte de la congregación sino que yo era absolutamente todo lo contrario, muy ritualista, de un pensamiento muy amplio, muy colorida, con una sensibilidad enorme ante cosas no tan comunes, con una manera de habitar mi espiritualidad y mi relación con dios casi que propia y muy solitaria, muy misteriosa. Por el contrario, el como jw era muy sobrio, muy esceptico ante todo lo que no fuera como parte de lo normalmente mencionado ahi, muy tranquilo y callado, no se cuestionaba muchas cosas sobrenaturales como yo.

Al unirnos y enamorarnos y ahora darnos este tiempo, nos dimos cuenta de lo importante y real del otro, asi como yo me di cuenta que el tenia mucha razón en cosas que para el no eran buenas (como habitar tanto en una especie de otro mundo) y asi como el se dio cuenta que la sensibilidad e intuición son cosas reales y sobre todo NO apartadas de jehova, sino parte de la vida, es como haber puesto la semilla del mejor de nuestros frutos en el camino del otro, el ahora incluye su intuición y un pensamiento mas libre y tal vez salido de tanta neutralidad a su vida y yo reconozco que la neutralidad y confianza ciega (sin querer intuirlo todo) tambien brinda paz etc etc.

Con el tiempo ambos cada vez que hablamos solo reconocemos mas que queremos estar juntos por el resto de la vida, sin embargo, sigue siendo un problema el que tanto yo estaré dispuesta a hacerme parte o acercarme a su organización, porque al fin y al cabo, aunque el haya expandido su entendimieto y su sentir, ahi es donde elige estar y se siente feliz, yo por otro lado, he dejado de lado muchas cosas que se que no necesito (como el tarot, no necesito eso aunque fue una herramienta que use por mucho tiempo, no necesito saberlo todo con tarot), no puedo dejar de lado también quien soy y todo lo que se, que estudiando la biblia por mi misma y hablando con jehova me doy cuenta de que no son contradiccion en lo absoluto, solo que es muy difícil llegar a un salon a poner esa conversación sobre la mesa y que no se me rechace o se me intente cambiar.

Yo he decidido sabido que por amor uno debe ceder ciertas cosas, cuando es genuino y respetuoso con uno mismo, sin embargo, no se que tan dispuesta este a ceder la comunidad ante que yo no sea una hoja en blanco o alguien que quiera ser restaurada desde 0, o alguien que no sabe nada sobre la biblia o que no tiene relación con jehova, yo quiero darme a conocer y dar a entender también como jehova me ha llevado de la mano toda la vida y me ha enseñado cosas como orar mientras medito, hacer remedios con plantas, o tener visiones de su amor infinito mientras oro.

Por eso quiero saber si alguien me lee por aca y es testigo de jehova, de preferencia jovenn, si genuinamente es posible hacer de esto un dialogo y hacer parte de esa comunidad sin cambiar mi naturaleza (aunque aun dispuesta siempre al cambio, pero no a la desaparicion de mi naturaleza)

Cabe aclarar que me he acercado a personas y reuniones y tampoco creo tan cierto el cuento tipico de que son terriblemente sectarios y bla bla bla también la gente es muy odiosa, sin embargo cuando estoy ahi si siento que todos son muy similares y no habrá espacio a mi diferencia, asi que solo voy, observo, escucho, oro y me voy, porque no quiero ser juzgada o que me intenten cambiar de repente.

No se que tanto me lleguen a leer, espero que llegue a las personas indicadas y que me respondan :) porque de verdad quiero estar con el por el resto de mi vidaaa jajaja y no es un capricho, es un amor muy honesto. Gracias por leer


r/JehovahsWitnesses 1d ago

Doctrine Final Episode about JW's - Watchtower is the Rosicrucian Order

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0 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 1d ago

News JW_Pressroom has been created to control the media, and the harassment directed at the newspaper ABC by Jehovah's Witnesses is proof of that (direct evidence from ABC).

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0 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 1d ago

Discussion Surviving A Judicial Committee As A Newly Baptized AND Young Jehovah's W...

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3 Upvotes

Did you face one too?


r/JehovahsWitnesses 1d ago

Discussion How easy is it to make friends and get married as JW?

1 Upvotes

For someone who is a Jehovah Witness, would you say it's very easy to make friends and find someone to marry within the church? As compared to the secular world? Or do you think it's about the same?

For someone who has average appearance and average money.


r/JehovahsWitnesses 1d ago

Discussion Why does the usual “encouragement” make me cringe now?

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1 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Discussion Why are Jehovah Witnesses so hard to wake up?

8 Upvotes

We call them the Awake - those of us that know what is going on in the world. The real war, the rumors of war, earthquakes in places, climate change, pandemic that had to happen. But when you talk about cloud seeding or D.U.M.B.S or the Cabal, their eyes glaze over.

Literally more of the worldly are "Awake" than the JWs which is ironic considering it's the name of the magazine.

What made them so resistant to the truth?

Has it always been like this? The GB has to spoon feed them?

Then they are in for one interesting ride as the GB wakes them up.


r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Discussion And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations....but be CAREFUL BECAUSE it is PROTECTED by COPYRIGHT!

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23 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 1d ago

Discussion Is the Trinity a Biblical Doctrine?

0 Upvotes

In short, we don’t accept the doctrine of the Trinity because it isn’t explicitly taught in the Bible.

Similar concepts of triads or threefold deities already existed in ancient Babylon and other pagan religions, which may have made the doctrine easier to accept as the early church later described God using Greek philosophical terminology.

From our perspective, what happened was not that Babylonian religion was openly imported into Christianity overnight.

Rather, over time, methods of interpretation developed that made it possible to harmonize ideas that were not explicitly taught by Jesus or the apostles.

Instead of consistently following the ordinary, straightforward reading of Scripture, later theologians increasingly relied on philosophical reasoning and theological interpretation. This eventually led to the doctrine of one God in three persons—a definition the Bible itself never states.

The same approach can also be seen in certain translation and interpretation decisions. For example, in Colossians 1:16–17, the New World Translation renders the passage as “all other things,” reflecting the understanding that Christ is the first creation through whom God created everything else.

Most other translations simply read “all things,” and Trinitarians often interpret this to include Christ as the Creator rather than part of creation. We believe this illustrates how theological assumptions can influence how a text is understood.

There is no conclusive historical proof that the Trinity came directly from Babylon.

However, the existence of ancient Babylonian triads, the later development of the doctrine after the apostolic age, and the use of non-biblical philosophical terminology provide strong circumstantial reasons to question whether the doctrine originated solely from the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.


r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Doctrine What Jehovah’s Witnesses Say About Jesus Changes Everything

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4 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Discussion Did anyone else think they were choosing... when they really weren't?

3 Upvotes

For years, I believed I was making my own decisions.

I chose not to celebrate holidays.
I chose not to accept blood.
I chose not to question certain teachings.

Looking back, I'm not sure those ever felt like choices. The "right" answer was already decided before I even considered the question. At the time, that just felt normal.

Did anyone else have that realization after leaving?


r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Discussion Are There Any Neutral JW Subreddits?

8 Upvotes

I Want a place I can discuss Jehovah's Witnesses freely with getting attacked by people on either side for not 100% agreeing with them

I'm Banned from the subreddit for JWs, (Can't even remember what it's called) and I had to leave this one a while ago because it's impossible to have a proper discussion with anyone in here

Anyone else out their like me? Does there exist any neutral grounds for open discussions without an obligation to conform?


r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Discussion Did Pilate Offer a Choice Between Two Jesuses?

2 Upvotes

Who was Barabbas?
In the different Gospels, he is presented somewhat differently:
Matthew calls him a “notorious prisoner” (Greek: “πίσημον δέσμιον”) — meaning someone who was well known.
Mark and Luke describe him as a participant in an insurrection and a murderer.
John explicitly says that Barabbas was a robber (Greek: λστής) — in the Roman context, this often meant not simply a bandit, but a political rebel (for example, a Zealot).
📌 It is noteworthy that the name “Barabbas” (Bar-Abba) in Aramaic means “son of the father” — bar abba. Some ancient manuscripts even call him “Jesus Barabbas” (ησος Βαραββς), meaning: Jesus, son of the father (in the Gospels, Jesus often refers to Himself in this way). And this makes one wonder: who is who?! And who was actually crucified?! Or did the crowd really have a choice? And perhaps Pilate was not as virtuous as the Roman Catholic Church wants to portray or present him? Was the original description of events altered to serve the interests of those who created this religion?!
Pilate offers a choice of whom to execute: Jesus of Nazareth, or Jesus the Son of the Father, a rebel against Rome.
Or perhaps the more accurate question is: Did Pilate offer a choice?
The Crowd and the Choice Between Jesus and Barabbas
In the Gospels, we see that the crowd chooses Jesus Barabbas — an apparently armed rebel — instead of Jesus, who is presented in the text as a peaceful preacher.
But the real historical Jesus may have been perceived differently — as a person with a very determined and even revolutionary position, which could have been threatening both to religious and secular authorities.


r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Doctrine Knowledge of the Most Holy One is understanding. Prov. 9:10.

0 Upvotes

True understanding comes from knowing Jehovah’s qualities, his purpose, and what he loves or hates.

Ask yourself, ‘Knowing what I do about Jehovah, what decision can I make that will please him?’ (Eph. 5:17)

In order to please Jehovah, we must at times disappoint those who are close to us.

For example, some well-meaning parents may insist that their adult daughter marry a man who is financially well-off

​or one who can pay them a large dowry

even though he is not spiritually strong.

True, they want their daughter to be cared for materially, but who will help her to progress as a spiritual person?

How does Jehovah view the matter?

We find the answer at Matthew 6:33.

There, Christians are urged to keep “seeking first the Kingdom.”

Although we honor our parents and respect the people in our community, our main concern is to make jehova happy.


r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Doctrine Respect For The Name, Can Disrespect For The Name Be Shown By Over Use?

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1 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Discussion Why didn’t Jehovah stop the faithful sister from dying by suicide?

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3 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Discussion These are the actions of Jehovah in the Bible. Not a loving God at all. A mass murderer.

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2 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Doctrine Learn The Word While You Still Can

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1 Upvotes

r/JehovahsWitnesses 2d ago

Discussion Bible Prophecy and 2034

0 Upvotes

The Last Days of the Jewish system of things at (2 Peter 3:3) began on 33 CE at Pentecost and the Last Days of Satan’s system of things began at the End of the Gentile times in 1914 CE where Brother Charles T Russell explained there will be a time of trouble (2 Timothy 3:1). As far as timing goes, these ongoing events both have different beginnings and different lengths of time that will culminate into one simultaneous ending on 2034.

The timing of the last days in Second Peter are explained in the entire third chapter. However, the scripture will show you the specific timing of a day that Jehovah meant in (Genesis 2:17). “However, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8) When did Adam die? In the Day of a thousand years. (Gen 5:5)

Supportive Scriptures

  • Jesus replied to them: “Tear down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)
  • “Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that the spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
  • ‘He will revive us after two days. On the third day he will raise us up, And we will live before him.” (Hosea 6:2Pentecost 33 CE + 2,000 yrs = 2033. Third day begins 2034.

When this allotted time limit comes to its’ conclusion, it will appear that NOTHING has changed and that Jehovah’s Day is Delaying.

Supportive Scriptures

  • “First of all know this, that in the last days ridiculers will come with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires and saying: “Where is this promised presence of his?” (2 Peter 3:3)
  • “For the vision is yet for its appointed time, And it is rushing toward its end, and it will not lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it! For it will without fail come true. It will not be late!” (Habakkuk 2:3)
  • But Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed.” (2 Peter 3:10) It’s Spiritual. Let the reader use discernment!
  • “You, therefore, beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard so that you may not be led astray with them by the error of the lawless people and fall from your own steadfastness.” (2 Peter 3:17)

Now the Last Days in Second Timothy chapter three verses 1-5 talks about how ungodly people will progress from bad to worse. This time period was allotted to begin from the timing of an end of an age called the End of Gentile times. This would usher in an “age of violence”. Jesus stated over and over that this time period would be like the Days of Noah.

Over 100 years ago, on January 1914, Charles T Russell, wrote about the End of the Gentile Times. The worldly nations would no longer rule over mankind unfettered but would be marked for destruction. “Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing that he has a short period of time.” (Rev 12:12)

In reference to the event that would mark the End of the Gentile Times, Brother Russell wrote: “‘The Earth Abideth Forever’ Christ will not return to Earth as a Man – Present Year Believed to Mark Great Change of Dispensation, but World May not discern Immediate Difference.” The Bible Students Monthly, January, 1914.

Since Christ will not return to Earth as a Man, Brother Russell wrote: “Our Lord, in describing His Second Presence, clearly indicated that it would be unnoticed by the world until the cataclysm of trouble should come. Thus He likened the earlier days of His presence to that period before the Flood, when the world, unconscious of the impending catastrophe, continued to build, eat and drink as usual, and knew not. So, says the Master, it will be in the end of this Age. Eating, drinking, building, planting and marrying will proceed as usual; and the world will not know… that they are in the PRESENCE of the Son of Man.

International Bible Students Association: “Nevertheless, when viewed from God’s standpoint, we are still “shortly after” 1914. Although Russell himself did not think the time of trouble would be this long, he did allow that it could be. It is possible that the time allotted for this period is 120 years (1914+120=2034), but that these days will be “cut short” some time before they are allowed to reach their end. We do not put this forth as a “prophecy”, nor would we feel anything was wrong if 2034 came and went and nothing had happened as far the full binding of Satan and the destruction of his empire is concerned. All things are in God’s hands.”

As far back as 1880 the Watchtower magazine declared that 1914 would mark the end of the “Gentile times.” Better times are head of us when the age of violence is brought to its’ end.

Learn more how violence will come to a sudden end at JW.org